2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax

This off-road pickup remains majorly unchanged from the outgoing model but still has a robust exterior design with decent interiors and practicality. That being said, the 2021 Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax does well in almost all forums and competes with the other American off-road trucks which are the GMC Sierra Crew Cab AT4, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LT Trail Boss, and the RAM 1500 Crew Cab Rebel.

The TRD Pro CrewMax is just one trim of the Tundra’s wide range of truck variants. It is priced at $53,500 which is a lot costlier than the regular Tundra but has quite a feature-packed cabin and is a great off-roader. It is equipped with a V8 engine which helps to tow 9,200 pounds and never felt slow for a truck. 

Other features like a 12-speaker JBL premium audio, 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, leather seats, etc. are available as standard. Toyota has offered the latest Safety Sense which packs a lot of advanced driver assistance features which come both on and off the road.

Which Trim should you buy?

The TRD Pro CrewMax is available in just one trim and practically it is very well equipped for an off-roader. We recommend it if you are looking for an all-terrain truck from the house Toyota. The list of features it holds, including the punchy V8 performance is something you should consider. It also comes loaded with all the off-road gears that you require as standard which makes it a great choice for off-road purposes. 

Powering the 2021 TRD Pro CrewMax is a massive 5.7-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine which belts out quite a respectable 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of maximum torque. This beast of an engine is mated to a 6-speed shiftable automatic transmission and comes with all-wheel drive as standard. On daily drives, the engine feels peppy with adequate power to overtake cars on the highways with heavy loads.

All these numbers have a good impact on real-world accelerations but are not exhilarating given that the numbers are considerably higher than many of its competitors. It touches the 60 miles an hour mark in 6.4 seconds and does a standing quarter-mile in 15 seconds. The truck can tow up to an impressive 9,200 pounds and tops out at 108 miles per hour which means the top end is relatively slower.

The Tundra, although it makes the best of the V8 engine by putting out a class-leading raw power torque, cannot stand strong in the accelerations. Both the GM and trucks make a considerable amount of lower engine power but do accelerate faster than the Tundra. The Sierra is the fastest among the bunch with almost a second better in the quarter-mile run. 

How well does the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax handle?

The handling department of the TRD Pro gives a mixed feeling which is quite acceptable given it is a truck. On a straight line, the truck feels confident with a good suspension setup and a lightweight steering wheel but the impression changes while it encounters the twisties. You can not expect sports car-like cornering abilities from a pickup truck that is so capable off-roader. The ride quality is very decent and the rivals offer a better ride.

The steering feels heavy and the feedback is not as much as some of the other rivals offer. Take it off-road and you will be amazed by its capabilities. The center and rear slip differential with the TRD suspensions help with taking over any terrain. You will forget all its quirks once you leave the roads and encounter some off-road obstacles.

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax Braking Performance

In terms of the brakes, the Tundra TRD Pro is equipped with big 13.9 inches front and 13.6 inches rear disk rotors. Coupled with Toyota’s Safety Sense suite, the braking performance is just average and nothing too special. Holding a curb weight of 5,640 pounds and adequately big brake rotors, it takes 153 feet to stop from 60 miles an hour. This makes it lag behind the competition when it comes to the overall braking performance. 

It is very much clear that Toyota is far behind the competition when it comes to braking performance. The RAM truck and GMC do a good job in stopping at a shorter distance and are followed by the Chevy. Toyota weighs the most in the competition and that might lead it to perform less than the competition.

Offering a decent fuel economy is not the thing with the 2021 Tundra TRD Pro as it rocks a big and unchanged 5.7-liter V8 for a long time and is indeed a gas guzzler compared to most of its rivals. The EPA rates it with only 13 mpg for the city, a very low 17 mpg rating for the highways, and a combined economy of 14 mpg which does not look good by any means. Toyota might be aware of this unfriendly economy and have equipped the truck with a massive 38-gallon tank that can deliver a whopping 532 miles of combined range.

RAM truck impresses again with its most economic fuel stats and that is because of its hybrid powertrain. The GM brother follows up next with quite good fuel economy. The Toyota stays at the last but makes it to the game with its class-leading fuel tank capacity which makes it deliver good range, better than the GMC and Chevy.

Enter the cabin of the 2021 Tundra Crewmax TRD Pro and you will be amazed by the design and spaciousness it holds with a lot of attention to detail. The dashboard is plastic-made but looks bold and holds the updated infotainment screen in the middle with the climate control knobs and other buttons. The left has the leather 4-spoke steering wheel which has integrated switches to control multimedia, cruise control, etc. The instrument console gets a small digital screen surrounded by analog gauges. 

The seats are all leather-covered with the front seats equipped with power adjustability and heated options. They also have good cushioning to make you feel comfortable throughout highway rides. The cabin space is outstanding in the Tundra Crewmax TRD Pro without you being worried about the passengers being uncomfortable at the rear. Although, if you want to compare with the competition, you might come up complaining about its front and rear headroom being slightly lower but is adequate for every average American. 

The rear has an ample amount of legroom, helping the passengers to move their legs freely. This off-road-focused truck gets a short bed only and has a payload capacity of 1,560 lbs, which is decent for the segment and can carry a lot of goods and luggage. Although the cabin is very spacious too with having a lot of additional storage spaces like the huge glove box and the box under the front hand rest.

If you want the best-in-class cabin space with added headroom and legroom then the GMC and the Chevy would be the best among the four. The RAM comes next in line and is followed by the Toyota. However, please do note that Toyota does not offer the worst cabin space. The GMC can carry a maximum payload of 2,080 pounds which are ground-breaking numbers for the competition. Standout interior features in the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax are:

• Leather steering wheel with tilt and telescopic adjustability
• Keyless ignition
• Dual-zone climate control
• 8-way power-adjustable driver seat and 4-way power-adjustable passenger seat
• Leather seats

What’s there to keep you entertained?

Equipped with Toyota’s Entune system coupled with an 8.0-inch touchscreen display, the infotainment system on offer in the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax is intuitive with an easy access interface.

The functionalities include Bluetooth and USB connection, voice recognition, satellite radio, etc. Toyota has enabled the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity as standard. Standout infotainment features in the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax include:

• 8.0-inch touchscreen display
• Entune system
• 12-speaker JBL premium audio system
• Bluetooth and USB connectivity
• Satellite radio
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity
• Navigation services

Although the design has been pretty much the same for a long time, the 2021 Tundra looks great with bumped-up exterior styling and is one of the monstrous-looking trucks on sale in the US. The front gets a beefy intake grille which comes in either blacked-out or chrome-filled and is coupled with full-LED headlights with DRLs and fog lights. The 2021 Tundra Crewmax TRD Pro gets a bigger front bumper and a higher ground clearance, which makes the wheel arches go up considerably. The rear gets an old-looking LED taillight and a rear bumper. 

Quite a few TRD-specific touches are existing on the exterior of this beast like the side-mounted custom exhaust system which makes the V8 sound raspier, and a set of 18-inch wheels which are blacked-out and come with off-road tires as standard. The dimensions of the truck are pretty similar to what the competition has on offer and in few areas even compact. It has a hefty curb weight of 5,640 pounds which makes it one of the heaviest among the competition. It is also 228.9 inches long and holds a massive ground clearance of 10.6 inches to help you tackle every kind of road you would ever desire. Also, the wheelbase is 145.7 inches long. 

The RAM and the GM brothers are quite similar in the overall dimensions while the Toyota stays on the compact side of things with shorter overall dimensions but has a slightly longer wheelbase than the RAM truck. However, the latter truck has an undisclosed ground clearance. All three trucks weigh much less than the Toyota. Standout exterior features in the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax are:

• 18-inch forged aluminum wheels
• Special Toyota logo grille
• Rigid Industries fog lights
• TRD front skid plate
• Fox shocks with remote reservoirs
• TRD Pro decals and badges
• TRD performance exhaust
• Sunroof
• TRD front bumper

The Tundra does a decent job in terms of overall safety and a host of safety features but not quite well in the overall safety ratings while crash testing. The NHTSA in its crash tests has rated the truck with a 4-star rating overall. The IIHS has rated “Good” in three categories and both “Marginal” and “Poor” too in a few categories, making it fall behind the competition. However, the Safety Sense driver-assistance features fill up the portion with its advanced safety features like lane-keeping assist, blindspot monitoring. Standout safety features in the 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax include:

• Lane departure warning accident avoidance system
• Pre-collision safety system
• Post-collision safety system
• Stability control
• Emergency braking assist
• Tire pressure monitoring

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax vs 2021 GMC Sierra Crew Cab AT4

With a slightly bigger price tag, the GMC is worth the extra money it is asking. It beats Toyota in every possible way which makes it an unbeatable offering.

Toyota, despite holding a more powerful engine, lags in real-world performance. The GMC on the other hand offers a better fuel economy, spacious cabin, and great braking performance.

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax vs 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LT Trail Boss

As the Chevy is built on the same platform as the GMC, it has the same engine but is on par in performance with the Toyota.

Despite holding a considerably cheaper price tag, the Chevrolet serves a better value when compared side-by-side with better fuel economy, braking performance, etc similar to the GMC. The Toyota has a better interior build quality and comes with a lot of safety features as standard. 

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax vs 2021 RAM 1500 Crew Cab Rebel

Priced the lowest in the competition, yet the RAM truck never fails to impress with its outstanding fuel economy in the competition, and in a lot of other areas like the interior spaciousness, braking performance, better exterior design language, and a more modern cabin experience.

The interior opulence of the RAM is very similar to the Toyota which is a lot pricier than the former.

The 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax is a good truck and holds a few distinctive features but is limited in functions. It does not come close to the competition in areas it is needed like engine and braking performance, safety ratings, fuel economy, cabin spaciousness, etc. In terms of off-roading experiences, it does well but is not the best for the overall standard, especially when holding a hefty price tag.